Pat and I did a SCUBA gear check-out at Gerstle Cove last Sunday. At the end of the month (and first half of the season) we'll be at Russian Gulch (Mendocino) and wanted to use the SCUBA gear, so we decided to give it a test run last weekend. The conditions were really quite nice. Low tide drew out the shore pickers and shallow-water divers who huddled inside the "protection" of the rocks. Outside (where it's safer) there was a good 20 feet of visibility on Sunday, which made our tank dive really quite nice and abalone easy to spot. I'm getting better at reading conditions and forecasts for the North Coast: pay attention to the interaction between swell, wind, and pressure. It was much nicer at 9 am than it had been at low tide (6:30 am).
We headed due south on SCUBA from the rocks just inside the point into about 40 feet of water. Personally, I tended to gravitate to checking out the abalone, but there were a good deal of urchins and fish out there as well. It's still early enough in the season that the kelp hasn't gotten thick. The abalone under "refuge depth" tended to cluster into small groups, but there were a lot of them in the 8 to 9-inch range. I was really glad to see a large number of emergent, sub-legal abalone as well. No giants outside the reserve though. At "turn around" pressure, we shifted our course to the east and swam into the cove. Inside the reserve there is a great deal of life - including a lot of abalone, some quite large. It's a worthy dive, and for a first SCUBA experience on the North Coast, I'd declare it total victory. Only complaint: it was good and cold.
Afterward, we stowed the SCUBA in the truck, grabbed the long fins, and headed out to the calm water to the west of the rocks at the north end of the cove. It was about 20 feet deep, and you could just make out the abalone on the bottom. I dropped my marker in a huge aggregation - no less than 18 legal abalone in a small area, and worked around the rocks, cracks, and caves. I found what was probably a 9, but couldn't mark it and lost track after surfacing. I ended up settling for a thick 8.5" and we headed back.
On the drive home, we checked out the view from the road above Longest Yard (Red Barn South) to consider what seems like a "reef" south of Pedotti. I haven't seen anyone out there yet, but we decided it would be worth the long swim sometime. We also checked out Russian Gulch (Sonoma) from which launching the kayak is out of the question. We had hoped to paddle north from there, but it looks like it'll have to be a swim. We dropped by Randy's store on the way through Sebastopol, and rinsed the gear and prepped the abalone when we got back. I relaxed the muscle by massaging it under warm water, and I have to say that was the tenderest abalone ever. Perfect for sushi or ceviche (it's intended purpose.) I still had to pound the few pieces we fried (no batter - just salt and pepper) but the muscle was so relaxed, I had a hard time cutting it thin with our (dull) knives. Good thing it didn't need it!
It's unlikely I'll get in the water again before Mendocino, so I'll have to make up for it when we get to Russian Gulch. I'd really like to get back into the water by Bolinas, but I need to track down an adventurous buddy for that.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Marin Abalone (Finally)
Spent a couple hours yesterday with two guys from the NorCal Underwater Hunters forum in the water off of Marin County. The vis was characteristically awful - 2 feet or less - and the wind was kicking up some waves that prevented us from really exploring as we would have liked.
Colin and Mike said they found a handful of small (couple of flat, legal 7-inchers and smaller) abalone in the cracks centered in the relatively-protected spot. On one dive, I found a pair of 8-9 inch abs sitting on a rock. In hindsight, I should have had a line with me to mark them, 'cause when you find a couple like that, who knows what's under the ledge. In my defense, I really didn't think we'd find any abalone.
So they're out there, but it's nothing like Sonoma (so far.) Up there are spots with hundreds of abalone - many out in the open. So far in Marin, they've been few and far-between, hard to find, and in relatively crappy conditions. The hikes and climbs, or paddles, make the effort similar to just driving to Sonoma where it's easy.
But I remain undeterred. The joy is in the hunt. Nobody took any abalone yesterday - not one of us was going to pop an under 9-inch ab.
Colin and Mike said they found a handful of small (couple of flat, legal 7-inchers and smaller) abalone in the cracks centered in the relatively-protected spot. On one dive, I found a pair of 8-9 inch abs sitting on a rock. In hindsight, I should have had a line with me to mark them, 'cause when you find a couple like that, who knows what's under the ledge. In my defense, I really didn't think we'd find any abalone.
So they're out there, but it's nothing like Sonoma (so far.) Up there are spots with hundreds of abalone - many out in the open. So far in Marin, they've been few and far-between, hard to find, and in relatively crappy conditions. The hikes and climbs, or paddles, make the effort similar to just driving to Sonoma where it's easy.
But I remain undeterred. The joy is in the hunt. Nobody took any abalone yesterday - not one of us was going to pop an under 9-inch ab.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Equalize
Just got back from a short talk given by Robert Lee of Performance Freediving. The main focus of the talk was equalization - a topic on which nearly any diver has something to learn. Robert discussed ways to prepare for your dive, both ahead of time and in the water, and on the Frenzel Fattah equalization technique. I'm not 100% sure that I've got that down yet (will keep practicing until it's natural), but apparently I'm in the 5% of people who can equalize without holding their nose, so I have that going for me already.
It was great to meet some people from the NorCal Underwater Hunters forum at the talk, and other abalone divers from the freediving world. Hope to see you all later this summer for a one-day abalone-diver-focused freediving workshop!
It was great to meet some people from the NorCal Underwater Hunters forum at the talk, and other abalone divers from the freediving world. Hope to see you all later this summer for a one-day abalone-diver-focused freediving workshop!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Big Fins!
Been coveting some real freediving fins for a while now - and thanks to some birthday cash from mom, they're on my feet!
They're Cressi Gara 3000LD - which are more flexible than some other long fins, but apparently that means that my legs will be able to take it, and they won't stiffen up too much in our frigid NorCal water. Leisure Pro had them on supa-sale for $100 and I grabbed a pair of Pinnacle 3mm booties while I was at it. Got them on as I type this and can feel the bones in my feet being squished together, but I figure if I'm not going numb just sitting here, I should be good once out there swimming.
More details after I get them into the water.
They're Cressi Gara 3000LD - which are more flexible than some other long fins, but apparently that means that my legs will be able to take it, and they won't stiffen up too much in our frigid NorCal water. Leisure Pro had them on supa-sale for $100 and I grabbed a pair of Pinnacle 3mm booties while I was at it. Got them on as I type this and can feel the bones in my feet being squished together, but I figure if I'm not going numb just sitting here, I should be good once out there swimming.
More details after I get them into the water.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Dives 29-30 May
Saturday we explored a chunk of coast with the kayak. It's one of those areas where nobody has ever said there are any abalone, and nobody has ever said there aren't any abalone. We figured it would be fun to go and look. The conditions were great - the seas calm, and the visibility wasn't bad, for where we were: 2-3'. Didn't see any abalone, but some spots were so beautiful (giant anenomes, huge carpets of strawberry anenomes, thousands of nudibranchs) that we resolved to return with compressed air and check it out on scuba. Would not be surprised to find some scallops, at least.
It's a little amusing that not finding abalone where I think there should be some only makes me want to search harder.
Carl called me Sunday night 'cause he wanted to do a meat run, and I agreed to set the alarm again and be in Sebastopol at 7am. We went to the same spot we did last time, though around the other side of the rocks. Once again, found an area littered with abalone bigger than 8-inches. Seriously, in plain-sight from the surface. Many right out in the open. Carl still popped his too fast for my liking, but at least he's getting more selective about finding the fat ones, and I see him spending more time with his head underwater. For my efforts, I pulled a 8.75" and a smaller 8.5" for dinner. Was happy to see some small guys this time. Maybe I was just paying more attention.
When we parked, the game wardens were in the process of citing some guys they had obviously been watching from the bluff. Shore-pickers, of course. It didn't seem like they had more than their limit, but there was some dialogue about pulling four, putting something back, walking twenty yards over the reef to hand one to a buddy. Not exactly sure, but there were citations and catch/permit confiscations. Even heard a "you're lucky I'm not taking your gear." I'm glad they're there doing that job. I thanked them as we headed down. They really do have a difficult assignment, and we really do need them out there doing it.
Long fins should arrive this week. Conditions look decidedly meh for the weekend. Better next week. I really want to be in the water.
It's a little amusing that not finding abalone where I think there should be some only makes me want to search harder.
Carl called me Sunday night 'cause he wanted to do a meat run, and I agreed to set the alarm again and be in Sebastopol at 7am. We went to the same spot we did last time, though around the other side of the rocks. Once again, found an area littered with abalone bigger than 8-inches. Seriously, in plain-sight from the surface. Many right out in the open. Carl still popped his too fast for my liking, but at least he's getting more selective about finding the fat ones, and I see him spending more time with his head underwater. For my efforts, I pulled a 8.75" and a smaller 8.5" for dinner. Was happy to see some small guys this time. Maybe I was just paying more attention.
When we parked, the game wardens were in the process of citing some guys they had obviously been watching from the bluff. Shore-pickers, of course. It didn't seem like they had more than their limit, but there was some dialogue about pulling four, putting something back, walking twenty yards over the reef to hand one to a buddy. Not exactly sure, but there were citations and catch/permit confiscations. Even heard a "you're lucky I'm not taking your gear." I'm glad they're there doing that job. I thanked them as we headed down. They really do have a difficult assignment, and we really do need them out there doing it.
Long fins should arrive this week. Conditions look decidedly meh for the weekend. Better next week. I really want to be in the water.
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